TRANSPORT

Severn Bridges Tolls

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will commission an independent review of the effects on the economy of Wales of the Severn Bridges tolls.

Michael Penning: The Welsh Affairs Committee and the Welsh Assembly Government are both undertaking reviews of the effects on the economy of Wales of the Severn Bridges' tolls. Both are due to report back with their findings next year. I will consider the findings of these reports and do not see a need for a further review at this time.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Local Government: Pay

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will take steps to moderate the level of local authority chief executive and senior officer  (a) salaries and  (b) early retirement payments; if he will place restrictions on such people taking new jobs at a senior level in the public sector within a specified period of taking early retirement; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: holding answer 11 October 2010
	Decisions about the salaries of local authority chief executives and senior officers, and any early retirement payments which either fall within the appropriate pay negotiating machinery, or the appropriate regulatory framework are matters for each local authority employer to consider in the light of local circumstances. While the specific terms and conditions of current and future employment is a matter for the relevant local authority to consider, the Secretary of State has recently called for the most senior local government officers to take a voluntary reduction in pay and also stated that no new council chief executive should be paid more than the Prime Minister.
	The Government's view is that there needs to be greater local democratic accountability and transparency over senior remuneration arrangements and policies within local government. In order to achieve this, the Government intend to bring forward proposals to ensure that councillors are better able to be held to account for their decisions on senior pay by providing them with the power to vote on their council's remuneration policies. On senior pay transparency, the Local Government Association (LGA) recently published draft guidance to support councils in publishing their senior salary information online. The guidance was published on 1 October and can be viewed and commented on at:
	http://lgtransparency.readandcomment.com/

INDEPENDENT PARLIAMENTARY STANDARDS AUTHORITY COMMITTEE

Apex Communications

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, how much Apex Communications was paid for its work in establishing the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority; and what its remit was.

Charles Walker: Apex Communications was paid £69,375 for work conducted over the period October 2009-July 2010. Apex was commissioned to provide a press office capability to deal with a high level of media interest and to organise activities. Apex then helped to establish and support IPSA's small in-house communications team. While the process of recruiting a director of communications was undertaken, it continued to provide practical help and strategic communication advice to IPSA through to July 2010.

Calyx (UK)

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, how many responses the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority received to the invitation to tender for which Calyx (UK) was shortlisted; what the criteria were for the contract; and what the specification was for the system.

Charles Walker: In total three responses were received to the invitation to tender for the Enterprise Solution and three for the Infrastructure Solution.
	The assessment criteria for the procurement exercise were:
	Ability to provide a requirements compliance traceability document.
	Ability to provide an executive summary including an overview of the solution and the associated perceived costs.
	Ability to provide details of their organisation.
	Ability to provide details of how their solution meets all functional and non functional requirements.
	Ability to provide details of reference sites.
	Ability to provide full details of the whole life cost including:
	Software license capital costs
	Technical architecture costs
	Initial implementation costs
	Annual costs associated with ongoing support
	Suitable contingency plans detailed in the event of non-delivery.
	Behaviours of the suppliers and cultural fit with IPSA.
	Capability to deliver to required dates.
	Creation of a web based access point for MPs and their staff.
	Capability to publish data early and a flexible approach.
	Outsourcing costs and implications.
	Strong data security, both internal and nationally.
	An architectural overview of the online expense system can be found on the following website:
	http://www.systemsatwork.co.uk/download/content/PDF/expense@work%20Architectural%20Overview.pdf

GovGap

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, how many staff members have been supplied to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority by Govgap since May 2010; and at what cost to the Authority.

Charles Walker: Two temporary staff members were provided for a short period by GovGap. This was at a cost to IPSA of £22,036 excluding VAT.

Manpower

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, how many people at each pay band there are in the policy unit of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.

Charles Walker: There are four members of staff in the policy team in the following pay bands.
	
		
			   Pay bands  (£)  Persons 
			 Senior civil service pay band 1 58,200-117,750 1 
			 IPSA Grade E 46,000-61,500 1 
			 IPSA Grade D 35,000-46,000 1 
			 IPSA Grade C 30,500-37,000 1

Members: Allowances

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, pursuant to the answer to Question 14306, on changes to the rules and procedures of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, how many changes there have been to the rules and procedures implemented by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority since its inception; and what the changes were which were made to the expenses scheme in July 2010.

Charles Walker: As per the answer of 13 September 2010,  Official Report, column 741W, a small number of changes to the MPs' Expenses Scheme were introduced in July 2010, following the consultation required by the Parliamentary Standards Act. The changes are detailed in "The MPs' Expenses Scheme: Second Edition", which has been made available to all MPs and is available on:
	www.parliamentarystandards.org.uk
	The changes are also detailed as follows:
	MPs who own their own property, but are not claiming a mortgage interest subsidy, can now claim associated expenditure (e.g. bills).
	MPs who are eligible for Accommodation Expenses can claim for journeys between any point in the constituency (or a home or office within 20 miles of their constituency) and Westminster or a London Area home.
	For air travel, reimbursement is limited to the rate of an economy, or flexible economy, class ticket for the same journey at the time of booking.
	Where more than one MP travels in the same car, only one of the MPs may submit a claim for the cost of the journey.
	MPs may claim for the cost of an evening meal when they are required to be at the House of Commons because the House is sitting late but the meal does not need to be eaten on the Parliamentary Estate.
	MPs may claim Travel and Subsistence Expenses for the cost of an overnight hotel for a member of their staff, where the staff member has necessarily travelled in assisting the MP in his or her Parliamentary functions, or in undertaking relevant training.
	MPs may claim reimbursement for subsistence expenses for their staff members if the staff member necessarily stays overnight in a hotel to assist the MP in his or her Parliamentary functions, or if the staff member is undertaking training.
	MPs may submit claims for the incidental expenses of interns and volunteers.

Pay

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority how much has been spent under each budgetary heading on expenses for each member of the board of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority in each month of its operation; and for what purpose in each case.

Charles Walker: Since IPSA began operations, only Sir Scott Baker has claimed expenses. These were all for travel on IPSA business. The months and amounts are detailed as follows.
	
		
			   £ 
			 June 65.80 
			 May 44.30 
			 August 48.10

Pay

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority how much each member of the communications team of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority receives in  (a) salary and  (b) benefits.

Charles Walker: One member of the communications team receives a salary within the range £45,000-50,000, and the other member of the communications team receives a salary within the range £30,000-£35,000. The benefits received are similar to those offered by many employers-such as 25 days annual leave, pension contributions and the offer of a season ticket loan.

Pay

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority how much the Director of Communications for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority will receive in  (a) salary and  (b) benefits in 2010-11.

Charles Walker: The Director of Communications will receive a salary within the range £75,000-£80,000. The benefits received are similar to those offered by many employers, such as 25 days annual leave, pension contributions and the offer of a season ticket loan.

Telephone Services: Manpower

John Spellar: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, on average how many employees staff the hon. Members' enquiry line each day; and how many such employees staffed that enquiry line on 10 September 2010.

Charles Walker: The IPSA core Information Line is staffed, on average, by five people. On 10 September, it was staffed by four people.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Energy: Prices

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will bring forward proposals for minimum standards for energy tariffs in his Department's Energy Security and Green Economy Bill; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: Providing customers with information about their supplier's cheapest tariff is about giving them the information they need to take control of household energy costs. We are working on the details of this proposal, but we are clear that cheapest tariff information needs to be presented in a straightforward and meaningful way to consumers.
	Ofgem has recently introduced new over arching standards to prevent the selling of products that are inappropriate to a customer's needs or offer products that are unnecessarily complex or confusing.
	In a recent open letter to suppliers, Ofgem, reminded suppliers of their obligations under these standards. A copy of this letter is available online at:
	http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Markets/RetMkts/ensuppro/Documents1/Open_letter%20on%20transparency.pdf

Feed-in Tariffs

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will take steps to change the rules of feed-in tariffs so those who installed microgenerators before 15 July 2009 will benefit to the same extent as those who installed microgenerators after this date.

Gregory Barker: Since the establishment of the coalition Government, we have been looking at several aspects of the feed-in tariff scheme, including the treatment of installations commissioned before the announcement of the scheme. After careful consideration, we have concluded that the scheme as it relates to these early adopters should remain unchanged. Generators who had installed before 15 July 2009 will not be eligible for the full rate of FITs, but those that benefited from the renewables obligation will continue to be supported at an equivalent rate.

Wind Power

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he plans to open the Offshore Wind Site Development Competition; and what arrangements have been made for the administration of that competition.

Charles Hendry: As with all public spending, funding for offshore wind manufacturing infrastructure is being reviewed in the context of the spending review. Administrative arrangements in connection with DECC policies will be finalised in the light of the outcomes of the spending review; announcements on the spending review will be made on 20 October.

Wind Power

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what plans he has for the future funding of the Offshore Wind Site Development Competition.

Charles Hendry: All future funding plans for the Department are a part of the ongoing spending review. Announcements on the spending review will be made on 20 October.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Bars: Prices

John Spellar: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the House of Commons Commission, what the difference is between the wholesale and retail price of a pint of Guinness sold in each House of Commons catering outlet.

Stuart Bell: The difference between the wholesale price and the retail price of a pint of Guinness in all outlets is £1.49.

EDUCATION

Academies: Equality

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he has sought advice from the Equality and Human Rights Commission on the likely effects of the implementation of the proposals in the Academies Bill on  (a) black pupils,  (b) Asian pupils,  (c) pupils from a mixed ethnic background,  (d) girls and  (e) pupils with special educational needs.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 19 July 2010
	The Secretary of State did not seek advice from the Equality and Human Rights Commission on the likely effects of the implementation of the proposals in the Academies Bill on the groups of pupils mentioned in the question.
	The evidence, both from Academies programme and from similar programmes in other countries, shows that all pupils benefit when schools are given greater freedoms.

Academies: Finance

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his estimate is of the amount of additional funding that new academy schools will receive  (a) nationally and  (b) broken down by local authority area.

Nick Gibb: The additional funding received by new academy schools is intended to ensure that they are no better or worse off than they were as maintained schools, having regard to their additional responsibilities. It will consist of a grant to meet VAT costs, and a grant known as Local Authority Central Spend Equivalent Grant (LACSEG) which is paid in lieu of certain local authority (LA) services. The amounts payable on a national basis will depend on the number of schools converting in each area. The VAT grant is a fixed percentage of the General Annual Grant paid to academies, the current percentages being 4.13% (Inner London), 3.62% (Outer London) and 3.54% (elsewhere). The grant is calculated by using historical data on schools' expenditure to derive a typical proportion of spend that attracts VAT.
	The table shows the amount per pupil of the grant in lieu of LA services, for each LA, expressed for the financial year 2010-11. Differences in the amounts reflect varying levels of delegation of funding. In some but not all LAs an amount for SEN services is also payable for relevant pupils and this is shown separately.
	New academy schools will also receive funding for insurance and rates at actual cost.
	
		
			  LA name  LACSEG FY10-11  SEN LACSEG FY10-11 
			   Pri  Sec  Pri  Sec 
			 Camden 721 663 148 143 
			 Greenwich 542 522 40 68 
			 Hackney 714 943 - - 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 659 679 - - 
			 Islington 986 1,322 - - 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 816 770 - - 
			 Lambeth 605 578 - - 
			 Lewisham 517 599 184 121 
			 Southwark 822 942 - - 
			 Tower Hamlets 679 756 90 70 
			 Wandsworth 378 655 35 56 
			 Westminster 693 797 - - 
			 Barking and Dagenham 365 394 160 89 
			 Barnet 301 302 271 365 
			 Bexley 269 263 268 195 
			 Brent 410 413 133 160 
			 Bromley 259 271 460 168 
			 Croydon 296 339 - - 
			 Ealing 324 340 25 189 
			 Enfield 384 366 56 6 
			 Haringey 530 566 43 33 
			 Harrow 276 340 190 149 
			 Havering 413 413 133 125 
			 Hillingdon 559 598 116 112 
			 Hounslow 604 470 203 201 
			 Kingston 312 343 110 118 
			 Merton 515 581 - - 
			 Newham 489 545 - - 
			 Redbridge 359 365 70 118 
			 Richmond upon Thames 519 571 438 95 
			 Sutton 243 260 83 65 
			 Waltham Forest 434 422 - - 
			 Birmingham 352 424 - - 
			 Coventry 343 393 628 387 
			 Dudley 309 308 13 15 
			 Sandwell 482 489 125 331 
			 Solihull 325 272 1,041 153 
			 Walsall 493 380 - - 
			 Wolverhampton 640 789 192 199 
			 Knowsley 463 503 239 206 
			 Liverpool 622 572 86 95 
			 St Helens 387 410 354 343 
			 Sefton 354 308 323 292 
			 Wirral 374 473 276 192 
			 Bolton 429 328 184 110 
			 Bury 440 276 - - 
			 Manchester 460 468 130 134 
			 Oldham 297 323 217 265 
			 Rochdale 392 442 404 284 
			 Salford 494 507 162 472 
			 Stockport 275 454 356 471 
			 Tameside 551 518 137 153 
			 Trafford 264 296 479 431 
			 Wigan 365 359 270 273 
			 Barnsley 593 633 - - 
			 Doncaster 391 438 81 86 
			 Rotherham 394 411 212 223 
			 Sheffield 426 396 273 267 
			 Bradford 404 397 188 138 
			 Calderdale 468 472 83 87 
			 Kirklees 621 593 179 134 
			 Leeds 396 441 32 18 
			 Wakefield 542 543 534 360 
			 Gateshead 599 699 218 273 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 516 541 158 40 
			 North Tyneside 702 686 130 215 
			 South Tyneside 428 403 47 50 
			 Sunderland 506 495 - - 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 347 280 280 511 
			 Bristol, City of 432 475 126 101 
			 North Somerset 263 290 94 132 
			 South Gloucestershire 434 426 37 17 
			 Hartlepool 706 747 168 63 
			 Middlesbrough 649 963 460 381 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 509 546 279 300 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 421 419 414 159 
			 Kingston Upon Hull, City of 649 469 178 185 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 433 459 52 70 
			 North East Lincolnshire 524 563 248 110 
			 North Lincolnshire 468 469 239 333 
			 North Yorkshire 278 334 265 397 
			 York 311 452 327 406 
			 Luton 393 507 82 63 
			 Bedford 471 482 117 162 
			 Central Bedfordshire 351 362 56 130 
			 Buckinghamshire 182 217 241 354 
			 Milton Keynes 387 358 101 51 
			 Derbyshire 594 586 14 2 
			 Derby 278 265 252 140 
			 Dorset 492 493 448 609 
			 Poole 296 257 43 37 
			 Bournemouth 394 347 135 175 
			 Durham 307 331 87 72 
			 Darlington 579 728 28 21 
			 East Sussex 388 405 395 130 
			 Brighton and Hove 467 374 131 97 
			 Hampshire 554 577 59 64 
			 Portsmouth 373 382 142 123 
			 Southampton 633 583 - - 
			 Leicestershire 476 469 289 329 
			 Leicester 578 551 99 104 
			 Rutland 683 708 286 369 
			 Staffordshire 345 335 174 223 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 596 587 - - 
			 Wiltshire 310 247 333 137 
			 Swindon 450 441 127 91 
			 Bracknell Forest 342 366 246 143 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 373 323 604 354 
			 West Berkshire 294 325 202 244 
			 Reading 612 805 97 78 
			 Slough 376 430 189 115 
			 Wokingham 600 592 39 31 
			 Cambridgeshire 337 318 200 - 
			 Peterborough 499 485 269 274 
			 Halton 705 721 249 178 
			 Warrington 512 456 56 62 
			 Devon 459 432 80 100 
			 Plymouth 542 503 149 173 
			 Torbay 549 528 118 107 
			 Essex 453 435 63 50 
			 Southend-on-Sea 423 467 4 6 
			 Thurrock 715 723 150 204 
			 Herefordshire 377 461 263 329 
			 Worcestershire 371 414 93 74 
			 Kent 342 322 36 38 
			 Medway 269 285 37 42 
			 Lancashire 290 347 - - 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 413 399 468 415 
			 Blackpool 507 475 - - 
			 Nottinghamshire 308 299 249 213 
			 Nottingham 818 756 104 39 
			 Shropshire 457 553 162 450 
			 Telford and Wrekin 358 335 136 157 
			 East Cheshire 350 258 154 117 
			 Cheshire West and Chester 414 305 154 74 
			 Cornwall 568 457 124 92 
			 Cumbria 424 458 221 172 
			 Gloucestershire 465 406 16 16 
			 Hertfordshire 262 269 66 73 
			 Isle of Wight 406 383 451 387 
			 Lincolnshire 456 462 170 53 
			 Norfolk 305 334 154 266 
			 Northamptonshire 296 299 145 143 
			 Northumberland 395 469 526 217 
			 Oxfordshire 374 392 388 548 
			 Somerset 490 539 100 95 
			 Suffolk 306 286 146 81 
			 Surrey 249 311 244 125 
			 Warwickshire 319 364 228 234 
			 West Sussex 403 356 - -

Departmental Public Expenditure

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will take steps to enable  (a) vulnerable,  (b) disabled and  (c) other people to participate in local decisions on identification of (i) areas in which savings may be made and (ii) services for which funding should be maintained at current levels in respect of proposed reductions in area-based grant funding.

Bob Neill: I have been asked to reply.
	Decisions on the level of future grant support for local authorities are being considered in the context of the spending review. The spending review is being run in an open, responsible and fair way that protects the poorest and most vulnerable in our society. We have consulted broadly with the public over the summer through the Spending Challenge. This has meant engaging and involving the whole country in the difficult decisions that will have to be taken.
	Some councils are using effective ways of engaging the community in making decisions about what to invest resources in and where to make savings. For example, a number of councils are using a web-based consultation tool called YouChoose, developed by LB Redbridge:
	http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=22436695
	This enables the public to be involved in the process and also helps them to understand the difficult choices facing councils. I would commend this approach to any council wishing to improve contributions from the community; and to go further by giving local people a direct say in spending as a part of the budget in a participatory budgeting exercise.
	The most promising ideas will be taken forward in time for the spending review on 20 October. We will limit as far as possible the impact of reductions in spending on the most vulnerable in society, and on those regions heavily dependent on the public sector.

New Schools Network

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 6 September 2010,  Official Report, column 351W, on the New Schools Network, what consideration his Department gave to the relevant regulations and agreements when agreeing to enter into the grant agreement with the New Schools Network.

Nick Gibb: The Department considered carefully the options for securing the requisite services from an external organisation. Given the need for specialist skills and experience to be in place quickly it was decided to award a time-limited grant to New Schools Network. In doing so the Department took account of the UK Public Procurement Regulations 2006 and the Compact Commissioning Guidance.

JUSTICE

Convictions

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Garston and Halewood of 26 July 2010,  Official Report, columns 684-86W, on convictions, what assessment he has made of the reason for the trends in conviction rates for  (a) theft and  (b) burglary in a dwelling between 2001 and 2008.

Dominic Grieve: I have been asked to reply.
	On 26 July 2010, the Secretary of State for Justice reported that the conviction rate for theft had increased from 79% in 1999 to 90% in 2008 and the conviction rate for burglary had increased from 63% to 74% over the same period.
	The data show that performance started to improve noticeably after 2003. This coincides with three major initiatives aimed at increasing the effectiveness of criminal case management in the criminal justice system, namely the Charging Programme, the Effective Trial Management Programme and the 'No Witness, No Justice' Programme. It was the combined effect of these major initiatives that helped to deliver the improvement in conviction rates and as Minister responsible for the CPS I am delighted with its role in delivering these outcomes.

Convictions: Theft

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of convictions for criminal offences in each of the last nine years was attributable to convictions for offences of  (a) burglary,  (b) theft and  (c) robbery.

Crispin Blunt: The number of defendants found guilty at all courts for burglary, theft, and robbery, and the proportion they are of all convictions, England and Wales 2000-08 (latest available) are shown in the following table.
	Data for 2009 will be published on 21 October 2010.
	
		
			  N umber of defendants found guilty( 1, 2)  at all courts for burglary, theft, and robbery, by percentage of those found guilty of all offences, England and Wales 2000-08( 3, 4, 5) 
			   Found guilty  Percentage 
			   Burglary  Theft( 5)  Robbery  All offence groups  Burglary  Theft  Robbery 
			 2000(3) 26,222 108,917 5,891 1,423,702 2 8 * 
			 2001 24,802 109,655 6,822 1,349,673 2 8 1 
			 2002 26,691 109,809 7,711 1,421,285 2 8 1 
			 2003 25,726 103,066 7,303 1,491,210 2 7 * 
			 2004 24,252 96,144 7,481 1,548,500 2 6 * 
			 2005 22,951 90,792 7,083 1,484,424 2 6 * 
			 2006 22,955 87,008 8,105 1,421,401 2 6 1 
			 2007 23,821 94,060 8,829 1,415,904 2 7 1 
			 2008(4) 23,882 100,125 8,475 1,363,218 2 8 1 
			 * Less than 1% (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Staffordshire Police Force were only able to supply a sample of data for magistrates courts proceedings covering one full week in each quarter for 2000. Estimates based on this sample are included in the figures as they are considered sufficiently robust at this high level of analysis. (4) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. (5) The following statute, sections of the statute, and corresponding offence descriptions are used for Theft: Theft Act 1968 S.1, S.11 and S.13 Stealing from the person of another Stealing in a dwelling other than from automatic machines and meters Stealing by an employee Abstracting electricity Stealing pedal cycles Stealing from vehicles: From motor vehicles From other vehicles Stealing from shops and stalls (shoplifting) Stealing from automatic machines and meters Stealing and unauthorised taking of motor vehicles: Stealing motor vehicle Other stealing and unauthorised taking: Offences under the Theft Act 1968 S.1 not classified elsewhere Removal of articles on show from places open to the public Stealing conveyance other than motor vehicle or pedal cycle  Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services-Ministry of Justice.

Crimes of Violence: Sentencing

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average length of a custodial sentence imposed in respect of grievous bodily harm was in each of the last five years.

Crispin Blunt: The number of persons sentenced at all courts, the sentence they received and average custodial sentence length for grievous bodily harm offences, England and Wales 2004 to 2008 (latest available) are shown in the following table.
	The offences shown in the table, which come under the Offences Against the Persons Act 1861, have been broken down into sub categories which together form the offence of grievous bodily harm.
	Data for 2009 are planned for publication on 21 October 2010.
	
		
			  Persons sentenced, the sentence they received and the average custodial  sentence length( 1)  at all courts for grievous bodily harm, England and  Wales 2004 to 2008( 2, 3) 
			  Offence and sentence outcome  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			  Wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm( 4)  
			 Total sentenced 1,697 1,673 1,559 1,734 1,664 
			  Of which:  
			 Immediate custody 1,542 1,516 1,445 1,548 1,548 
			 Average custodial sentence length (months) 48.6 48.6 46.5 43.7 49.4 
			 Absolute discharge 2 2 2 3 - 
			 Conditional discharge 1 2 2 - - 
			 Fine - 2 4 4 1 
			 Community sentence 92 75 52 85 43 
			 Suspended sentence 16 22 25 36 25 
			 Otherwise dealt with 44 54 29 58 47 
			   
			  Wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm( 5)  
			 Total sentenced 4,331 4,227 4,322 4,487 4,341 
			 Immediate custody 2,278 2,182 2,118 2,159 2,188 
			  Of which:  
			 Average custodial sentence length (months) 17.7 18.1 18.5 18.8 18.1 
			 Absolute discharge 4 5 - 4 - 
			 Conditional discharge 43 48 43 33 27 
			 Fine 52 39 32 28 17 
			 Community sentence 1,715 1,626 1,133 977 814 
			 Suspended sentence 146 219 882 1,182 1,207 
			 Otherwise dealt with 93 108 114 104 88 
			   
			  Racially or religiously aggravated grievous bodily harm( 6)  
			 Total sentenced 32 38 49 60 68 
			  Of which:  
			 Immediate custody 18 17 22 25 36 
			 Average custodial sentence length (months) 19.3 10.5 18.9 21.6 14.0 
			 Absolute discharge - - - - - 
			 Conditional discharge - 1 1 1 4 
			 Fine 2 - 2 5 2 
			 Community sentence 10 17 17 17 17 
			 Suspended sentence 2 3 7 11 7 
			 Otherwise dealt with - - - 1 2 
			 (1) Average custodial sentence length excludes life and indeterminate sentences. (2) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4) Offences against the Person Act 1861 S.18-Wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm. (5) Offences against the Person Act 1861 S.20-Malicious wounding:-wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm. (6) Offences against the Person Act 1861 S.20 as amended by Crime and Disorder Act 1998 S.29(1)(a)&(2) Racially aggravated malicious wounding:-wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm. Religiously aggravated malicious wounding:-wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm. Racially or religiously aggravated malicious wounding:-wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm.  Source: Justice Statistics-Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice

HEALTH

Abortion: Young People

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the rate of terminations of pregnancies for women aged under 18 per 1,000 conceptions was in 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: In England and Wales, for women aged under 18 years, 494 per 1,000 conceptions were terminated by abortion in 2008 (the most recent year for which figures are available). Figures on conceptions are estimates based on the number of live births, stillbirths or legal abortions. They do not include miscarriages and illegal abortions. Figures are based on the woman's age at estimated date of conception. Data for 2008 are provisional. The rate of abortions in England and Wales for under 18-year-olds was 20.1 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 17 years in 2008.

Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many contracts to obtain data from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency General Practice Research Database  (a) his Department and  (b) another agency of Government has entered into without tendering;
	(2)  what studies his Department has undertaken to ensure that the cost to his Department and other Government bodies of acquiring medical data from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency General Practice Research Database represents value for money in comparison with the cost of obtaining similar data from commercial organisations.

Simon Burns: Over the last three years, the General Practice Research Database (GPRD) has added new and additional services which means that simple comparisons of the cost of access to primary care data between the GPRD and that from commercial organisations are not meaningful.
	The "contracts" referred to are actually in-house arrangements between the Department and one of its Executive agencies and therefore not subject to the requirements of procurement law.

Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment has been made of the potential for a conflict of interest to arise between the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency function of regulating pharmaceutical products and that Agency's role as supplier of General Practice Research Database medical data to the same pharmaceutical companies;
	(2)  whether the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency General Practice Research Database department repaid the initial funding loan it received from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) when the General Practice Research Database was moved from the Office for National Statistics to the MHRA.

Simon Burns: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has in place a robust separation of functions between the MHRA regulatory functions and the General Practice Research Database (GPRD) to ensure there is no conflict of interest. The GPRD is run by its own dedicated team who have no involvement with any regulatory work of the MHRA, and none of the MHRA regulatory staff have access to the administration of the GPRD. The GPRD Group reports into a non-regulatory Division of the MHRA, the Information Management Division. The GPRD group maintains its own separate management accounts. GPRD and MHRA data are kept on separate physical servers, accessed through separate logical domains. As a result of this separation of functions the Agency is confident that no conflict of interest exists.
	The GPRD moved from the Office of National Statistics to the Medicines Control Agency (MCA), the predecessor body to the MHRA in 1999. At that time the MCA took a decision to invest in the GPRD to develop it as a resource for medical and health research purposes undertaken in the public interest. This was an investment, not an 'initial funding loan' requiring repayment.

Our Life

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether  (a) he and  (b) officials of his Department have discussed with NHS North West the (i) establishment and (ii) funding of the social enterprise Our Life.

Paul Burstow: During the development and establishment phase of the Our Life programme, discussions took place between ministers and the North West strategic health authority (SHA). Along with other regional partners, departmental officials had discussions with the SHA in relation to this organisation. There is no requirement for the Department to approve the establishment of social enterprises.
	The Department provided funding to each region to help support the reduction of harm from alcohol at a local level. In the North West, the regional Drink Wise programme contributed to specific projects, including Our Life.
	Further information on the Our Life social enterprise is available at:
	www.northwest.nhs.uk/whatwedo/publichealth/our_life

SCOTLAND

Departmental Contracts

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the monetary value is of contracts his Department has awarded to each  (a) management consultancy and  (b) IT company since 7 May 2010.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office has not awarded any management consultancy or IT contracts since 7 May 2010.

Departmental Manpower

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many officials his Department has appointed on fixed-term contracts since 7 May 2010.

David Mundell: All staff in the Scotland Office are on secondment, mainly from the Ministry of Justice or the Scottish Government. The Office does not employ staff directly.
	Since 7 May 2010, one member of staff has joined the Office on a fixed-term contract through the Ministry of Justice.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if his Department will take steps to assess the effects on  (a) equality of incomes,  (b) equality of assets and  (c) equality of access to services of measures relating to its expenditure under consideration in the Spending Review.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not deliver services directly to the public. However the equality duties inform all its work as a matter of course.

Departmental Secondment

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many staff his Department has appointed on secondment since 7 May 2010; and from what organisation each such member of staff has been seconded.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not employ staff directly. All its staff are on secondment from other public bodies, mainly the Ministry of Justice and the Scottish Government. As at 16 September 2010, the Scotland Office has appointed four members of staff on secondment since 7 May 2010. Two are from the Scottish Government and two are from the Ministry of Justice.

Departmental Work Experience

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many interns his Department has engaged in the last 12 months; and how many were  (a) unpaid,  (b) remunerated with expenses only and  (c) paid a salary.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office has engaged no interns in the last 12 months.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Departmental Billing

Mike Freer: To ask the Attorney-General what the average cost to the Law Officers' Departments was of processing the payment for an invoice in the latest period for which figures are available; and what proportion of invoices settled in that period were paid  (a) electronically and  (b) by cheque.

Dominic Grieve: The information requested is contained in the following table:
	
		
			  Law Officers Department  Estimated average cost (£)  Proportion of payments by cheque (%) 
			 Crown Prosecution Service 3.84 6.8 
			 Treasury Solicitor's Department(1) 6.42 12 
			 Serious Fraud Office(2) 6.50 1 
			 (1) TSOL figures also cover the Attorney-General's Office and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate.  (2) The SFO figures include invoices processed on behalf of the NFA.

Departmental Empty Property

Mike Freer: To ask the Attorney-General what the estimated monetary value is of each vacant  (a) building and  (b) parcel of land owned by the Law Officers' Departments in each region.

Edward Garnier: None of the buildings or land owned by the Law Officers' Departments is currently vacant.

Departmental Press: Subscriptions

Mike Freer: To ask the Attorney-General how much the Law Officers' Departments spent on newspapers, periodicals and trade profession magazines in each year since 1997.

Dominic Grieve: The information requested is contained in the following table:
	
		
			  £ 
			   CPS  RCPO  SFO  TSOL( 1)  NFA 
			 1997-98 96,692 - 17,436 - - 
			 1998-99 95,322 - 28,093 6,505 - 
			 1999-2000 92,876 - 28,683 8,611 - 
			 2000-01 101,135 - 27,458 16,831 - 
			 2001-02 102,312 - 30,742 25,571 - 
			 2002-03 138,122 - 41,466 22,470 - 
			 2003-04 134,187 - 59,088 3,621 - 
			 2004-05 143,594 - 55,474 3,878 - 
			 2005-06 229,916 113,854 64,330 11,457 - 
			 2006-07 269,302 115,923 80,641 13,115 - 
			 2007-08 182,865 112,611 84,067 10,633 - 
			 2008-09 193,910 147,021 69,999 11,823 - 
			 2009-10 201,474 (2)77,954 59,419 6,220 542 
			 (1 )Tsol data include costs for AGO and HMCPSI. Information is not recorded for 1997-98.  (2) Data up to end of December 2009. RCPO merged with CPS on 1 January 2010.

Departmental Secondment

Ian Austin: To ask the Attorney-General how many staff the Law Officers' Departments have appointed on secondment since 7 May 2010; and from what organisation each such member of staff has been seconded.

Edward Garnier: The Law Officers' Departments have not appointed any staff on secondment since 7 May 2010.

Female Genital Mutilation

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Attorney-General if he will undertake an investigation of factors affecting the number of prosecutions for offences related to female genital mutilation; if he will take steps to increase the rate of such prosecutions; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Garnier: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is an active member of the inter-departmental Female Genital Mutilation Steering Group co-ordinated by the Home Office. This group has been working to raise public awareness and ensure that wherever these cases are reported, they are thoroughly investigated. In addition, they aim to ensure that measures are available to support victims and witnesses.
	The prosecution of such cases is taken very seriously by the CPS and prosecutors are made fully aware of the issues surrounding this subject.
	The CPS also works closely with the police to build strong prosecution cases. All cases sent to the CPS following an investigation are subject to the Full Code Test set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors, which requires that there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest for a prosecution to proceed.

Sentencing: Appeals

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Attorney-General 
	(1)  how many representations his Department has received requesting that a sentence given in a Crown court be considered for referral to the Court of Appeal for review because it may be unduly lenient in each of the last 12 months; and on how many occasions his Department has referred a sentence to the Court of Appeal for such a review;
	(2)  on how many occasions the Court of Appeal has increased on review the length of a sentence passed down by the Crown court on grounds of undue leniency in each of the last five years.

Dominic Grieve: The power to refer certain sentences to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient is one which I exercise personally. Statistics relating to unduly lenient sentences are published annually and are available on the Attorney-General's Office website. In the 12 months from September 2009 the previous Attorney-General and I were asked to consider sentences passed on 347 offenders. The sentences passed on 99 offenders were referred to the Court of Appeal for review.
	The figures for the last five years are as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2009 71 sentences were increased, of 108 reviewed by the court 
			 2008 52 of 80 
			 2007 75 of 113 
			 2006 108 of 160 
			 2005 67 of 127

DEFENCE

Aircraft Carriers

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many military personnel were deployed from aircraft carriers in  (a) Afghanistan in 2001,  (b) Al Faw in 2003 and  (c) Sierra Leone in 2000.

Nick Harvey: holding answer 11 October 2010
	HMS Illustrious was one of the first British units in theatre at the start of the Afghanistan operation, providing the delivery of early entry land forces into theatre.
	Approximately 150 personnel from 40 Commando Royal Marines deployed by helicopter from HMS Ark Royal to the Al Faw peninsula during the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
	HMS Illustrious deployed in the Carrier Strike role to Sierra Leone in 2000 and therefore did not deploy any troops directly. As part of the same operation, approximately 800 personnel from the Amphibious Ready Group based around 42 Commando Royal Marines deployed into Sierra Leone from a task group based around HMS Ocean, a Royal Navy Landing Platform Helicopter.

Christopher Myers

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether Christopher Myers attended pre-deployment training before participating in a visit to Afghanistan in January 2010.

Liam Fox: Christopher Myers received a pre-deployment briefing in line with current policy for visits of this nature.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on hospitality for events hosted by each Minister in the Department in each of the last three years.

Andrew Robathan: As part of their duties Ministers are regularly asked to host receptions and meals in honour of visiting dignitaries. We do not have comprehensive costs records for the period in question. The following table details the costs of the events we have records for, by calendar year, from September 2007.
	
		
			  Period  Name  Recorded cost of events in £ (rounded to the nearest £10)  Annual total (£) 
			 September-December 2007 Right hon. Des Browne MP 9,540 (1)9,540 
			 January-December 2008 Right hon. Bob Ainsworth MP 16,050  
			  Right hon. Des Browne MP 13,430  
			  Quentin Davies MP 1,320  
			  Right hon. John Hutton MP 960  
			  Right hon. Baroness Taylor of Bolton 7,810 39,570 
			 January-December 2009 Right hon. Bob Ainsworth MP 12,510  
			  Quentin Davies MP 3,720  
			  Bill Rammell MP 620  
			  Right hon. Baroness Taylor of Bolton 20,640 37,490 
			 January-April 2010 Quentin Davies MP 2,000  
			 January-April 2010 Right hon. Baroness Taylor of Bolton 150  
			 May-September 2010 Lord Astor of Hever DL 100  
			 May-September 2010 Right hon. Dr Liam Fox MP 1,410  
			 May-September 2010 Gerald Howarth MP 3,030 (2)6,690 
			 (1 )Part year (2 )To date

Departmental Secondment

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff his Department has appointed on secondment since 7 May 2010; and from what organisation each such member of staff has been seconded.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence has appointed 10 staff on secondment since 7 May 2010. They have come from the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, UK Trade and Investment, the Treasury Solicitor's Department and the national health service.
	Secondments allow the outward and inward exchange of staff, ideas and skills between departments. They can help to develop individuals and enhance the business by introducing different perspectives, expertise and business acumen.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Alan Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which  (a) chief constables,  (b) police authority chairs and  (c) local authority leaders have indicated support for her proposals to cease the use of antisocial behaviour orders.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 16 September 2010
	Home Office officials are in constant dialogue with police and other professional bodies about a wide range of issues related to antisocial behaviour. No decisions have yet been taken on the future of the antisocial behaviour order but my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced a review of antisocial behaviour tools and powers and the views of  (a) chief constables,  (b) police authority chairs and  (c) local authority leaders will be taken into account as part of this work.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Alan Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to her speech at the Coin Street Community Centre in London on 28 July 2010, what representations her Department has received from hon. and right hon. Members in favour of the use of antisocial behaviour orders since 1997.

James Brokenshire: It is not possible to provide the information requested.
	Representations received by the Home Office cover a wide range of tools and powers, including antisocial behaviour orders and to provide a summary of these would entail disproportionate costs.

Domestic Violence

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what discussions she has had with the Association of Chief Police Officers on her decision not to proceed with domestic violence protection order pilots;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of implementing domestic violence protection orders across England and Wales;
	(3)  what her estimate is of the cost of the proposed pilots on domestic violence protection orders to  (a) participating police forces and  (b) her Department for the duration of the pilots;
	(4)  for what reasons she plans not to proceed with the proposed pilots on domestic violence protection orders.

Lynne Featherstone: We have deferred, not halted, the pilot scheme of the domestic violence protection order (DVPO) so we could understand their potential impact better and be sure that they would work before committing public funds.
	In tough economic times, the Government have to consider options for delivering improved protection and value for money across all aspects of their work. We will give further consideration to work in this area once the outcome of the spending review is known and we have explored options for reducing costs of implementation. We have had representations from a range of organisations and will keep the Association of Chief Police Officers and other partners involved in discussions about this.
	The costs of implementing DVPOs across England and Wales would be impacted by a range of factors, including take-up, and it is not possible to accurately estimate these until a pilot has taken place. The estimated cost for piloting the scheme within two police force areas was £700,000 based on an assumption of 250-300 possible applications for DVPOs across a 6-12 month period over the two areas.

Firearms

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 20 July 2010,  Official Report, column 199W, on firearms, whether her Department intends to publish a report of the National Ballistics Intelligence Service's work on the illegal use of shotguns.

James Brokenshire: The National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS) delivers a range of intelligence assessments and problem profiles to UK law enforcement organisations. The Service's role is to build these profiles in order to inform and develop operational activity that protects the communities of the United Kingdom from the threat of firearms crime. This includes the use, supply, manufacture and smuggling of illegal weapons into and within UK borders.
	These assessments, and subsequent activity, are of a sensitive nature and often involve a range of law enforcement activities across multiple agencies and forces. In order to protect operational activity and intelligence gathering resources and techniques, NABIS does not share this information in the public domain and it would be inappropriate for Government to ask it to do so. NABIS may periodically share information relating to operational activity where a particular threat has been removed; however this is done on a case by case basis.

Hillsborough Independent Panel

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what reports she has received on progress made by the Hillsborough Independent Panel; and what timetable the panel has set for the next steps in its work.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 11 October 2010
	As my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary said in her written ministerial statement of 22 July 2010,  Official Report, column 42WS, the Hillsborough Independent Panel has the Government's full support. That statement also confirmed that no changes have been made to the Panel's terms of reference. Within that framework it is for the Panel to decide how and when information is disclosed, initially to the Hillsborough families. We recognise both the importance of the Panel's work and the diligent and professional way in which it is conducting its duty.

Immigration

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people had overstayed the time limit of their leave to remain on the latest date for which figures are available.

Damian Green: It has not been possible to accurately estimate the number of people who have overstayed their limited leave to remain in the UK since the dismantling of embarkation controls.
	The wider immigration programme, contained in "The Coalition: our programme for government" published on 20 May, includes a commitment to support e-Borders and re-introduce entry and exit checks.
	I am aware of research by the London School of Economics (LSE) in May 2009 which gave a central estimate for the total irregular migrant population in the UK as at the end of 2007 of 618,000 (1.0% of UK population) within a range of 417,000 to 863,000.
	The LSE report is available to view at:
	http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/LSELondon/pdf/irregular%20migrants%20full%20report.pdf

Immigration Controls

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the forecast requirements for foreign workers of Tier 2 sponsors have been at the end of each month since the inception of the scheme.

Damian Green: The number of Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) assigned to prospective migrants by sponsors under Tier 2 of the Points Based System (PBS) since inception of the scheme is 123,680. The monthly totals are as follows:
	
		
			   CoS assigned 
			 November 2008 50 
			 December 2008 1,723 
			 January 2009 4,167 
			 February 2009 4,607 
			 March 2009 5,805 
			 April 2009 5,091 
			 May 2009 5,160 
			 June 2009 6,464 
			 July 2009 6,970 
			 August 2009 5,713 
			 September 2009 5,833 
			 October 2009 6,012 
			 November 2009 5,936 
			 December 2009 6,119 
			 January 2010 5,623 
			 February 2010 5,728 
			 March 2010 7,194 
			 April 2010 5,817 
			 May 2010 6,334 
			 June 2010 7,242 
			 July 2010 7,577 
			 August 2010 5,392 
			 September 2010 3,123 
		
	
	Under Tier 2 of the PBS an employer wishing to sponsor a migrant under Tier 2 must assign a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) which the migrant must use to make an application for a visa.
	Not everyone issued with a COS makes an application for a visa; and not everyone who applies for a visa is successful.

Protocol on Transitional Provisions

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  in relation to which EU acts the UK is entitled to make notification of non-acceptance to the Council under Article 10(4) of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions attached to the Treaty on European Union, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community;
	(2)  to which EU acts which applied to the UK on the date of the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon the provisions of Article 10(1) of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions attached to the Treaty on European Union, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community applied on that date; what EU acts which apply to the UK amend or repeal such acts; and on what date the UK decided to participate in, or participate in the adoption of the proposal for, each such amending or repealing act in which it had discretion to participate under the Treaties;
	(3)  what proposals are under consideration at EU level that would amend or repeal EU acts which apply to the UK and to which the provisions of Article 10(1) of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions attached to the Treaty on European Union, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community apply; and on what date the UK decided to participate in any such proposals in which it had discretion to participate under the Treaties.

James Brokenshire: The provisions of Article 10(1) and the notification under Article 10(4) of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions apply to any measure adopted prior to the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty on 1 December 2009 which had a legal base in the police and criminal judicial co-operation title (VI) of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) where those measures have not subsequently been repealed, annulled or amended by the adoption of a new measure. In making the notification, all such measures would cease to apply to the UK from 1 December 2014.
	One proposal which will amend or repeal an existing measure has been adopted since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty: under the terms of the Schengen opt-out, the UK did not opt out of a proposal for a Council Regulation to amend Council Decision 2008/839/JHA, which provides a legal basis for the migration of Schengen Information System (SIS) data from the current system to the future SIS II system.
	The UK has also opted in to one proposal which remains under negotiation, the European Investigation Order, which would replace the European Evidence Warrant, the majority of the 2000 Convention on Mutual Assistance in criminal matters and its Protocol and the Framework Decision 2005/577/JHA insofar as it relates to the freezing of evidence. The UK notified its intention to participate in the European Investigation Order on 27 July 2010.
	This response covers only those measures for which the Home Office has responsibility.

TREASURY

Child Poverty

Ann McKechin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what methodology his Department uses to assess the effects of its policies on the level of child poverty.

Justine Greening: As set out in Paragraph A20 in Annex A of the June Budget, the Department used its tax and benefit micro-simulation model to estimate the impact of Budget measures on child poverty. This modelling was based on data from the Family Resources survey, uprated to the appropriate year, and estimated using the change in relative child poverty of modelled tax and benefit reforms.

Interest Rates and Government Borrowing

Matthew Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the relationship between changes in market interest rates and levels of Government borrowing.

Mark Hoban: The action announced by the Government in the June Budget 2010 to consolidate their fiscal position supports low interest rates and a fall in gilt yields. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts that debt interest payments will be £4 billion lower, and net debt as a percentage of GDP will be 5% lower, in 2014-15 than in its pre-Budget forecast.

SMEs

Dominic Raab: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what fiscal measures he is taking to increase levels of employment in small and medium-sized businesses.

David Gauke: Next year's increase in the employer national insurance contributions threshold will reduce costs to employers by over £3 billion. The national insurance contributions holiday announced at Budget reduces costs to new businesses in targeted regions. In many cases, new small business will pay no employer national insurance in the first year of employment.

Comprehensive Spending Review

Penny Mordaunt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on joint working between Departments as part of the comprehensive spending review.

Danny Alexander: The Prime Minister has appointed the Public Expenditure Committee to advise Cabinet on the high level decisions that will need to be taken in the spending review, including the approach to cross-cutting issues.
	To support closer collaboration, the Treasury encouraged Departments to submit joint spending review submissions on key cross-cutting issues.
	Joint working will continue to be important through the spending review period, including exploration of place-based budgets to encourage local budget holders to work together to deliver local priorities.

Tax System

Therese Coffey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department is taking to simplify the tax system.

David Gauke: The Government are committed to simplifying the tax system. To help achieve this, the Government have established the independent Office of Tax Simplification.
	Business and tax professionals have also consistently pointed to the way in which tax policy is developed, legislated and implemented as a contributing factor to overall complexity. We published a discussion document alongside the June Budget setting out proposals for a new approach to tax policy making, available at:
	www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/junebudget_tax_ policy_making.pdf

Departmental Spending

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of arrangements for departmental spending reductions in place in May 2010.

Danny Alexander: On 24 May we announced £6.2 billion savings in 2010-11 and departmental budgets were reduced with immediate effect. Departments are responsible for ensuring that they live within their reduced budgets. In some areas they have been supported by HM Treasury and the Efficiency and Reform Group (ERG) in the Cabinet Office, for example renegotiating with Government's major suppliers to achieve cost reductions.

EU Globalisation Fund

Dan Byles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects the temporary EU Globalisation Adjustment Fund to be closed.

Justine Greening: The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) entered into force on 1 January 2007. It was established to support active labour market measures where major structural changes in world trade patterns lead to substantial redundancies. It is concurrent with the duration of the financial framework, ending on 31 December 2013.
	In June 2009, the scope of the fund was expanded temporarily to support workers made redundant as a result of the global economic and financial crisis. This derogation will expire on 31 December 2011.
	Any proposals relating to EGF, including for the continuation of the fund beyond 2013, will be scrutinised in terms of good value for money as with all areas of EU spending.

Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services

David Winnick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what telephone numbers are available for members of the public to contact his Department to discuss tax credit issues; what reports he has received of difficulties experienced by members of the public attempting to contact his Department in this way; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: holding answer 14 September 2010
	There are three numbers available to customers to discuss tax credit issues, available at:
	http://search2.hmrc.gov.uk/kbroker/hmrc/contactus/start.jsp
	1. The main telephone number: 0845 300 3900
	2. For customers who are deaf or hearing or speech impaired: 0845 300 3909
	3. For customers calling from outside the UK: +44 2890 538 192
	Performance across HMRC's phone lines varies throughout the year depending on when key deadlines and contact peaks fall.
	Treasury Ministers are aware that some taxpayers have found it difficult to get through to HMRC's helplines during this year's busiest periods. HMRC is committed to improving the performance of its telephone helplines, and has introduced a range of measures and improvements to improve the service the Department provides. These include:
	Reducing the need for customers to contact HMRC by improving processes and the forms they issue.
	Improving the HMRC website to make it easier for customers to find the answers to general inquiries.
	Developing and improving the range of automated messages to provide answers to many customer queries without the need to speak to an adviser.
	Using staff flexibly across HMRC's helplines to better match customer demand.
	For tax credits the key peak runs from April to July 31, the deadline for customers to renew their claims. Demand in August and September can also be high as HMRC deals with customers whose claim has been terminated due to their failure to renew and claimants inform HMRC of changes to their dependents' educational status as the new school year starts.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Business Link: Manpower

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many Business Link advisers were employed on Train to Gain in the latest period for which figures are available.

John Hayes: Since April 2009 the Train to Gain brokerage service was integrated with Business Link. Business Link advisers give advice and support to employers on skills and where appropriate broker access to Train to Gain-funded provision. While some regions employ a fully integrated model with all advisers working in all support areas, in others, skills brokerage is delivered by dedicated skills advisers. In total 675 Business Link advisers were available to deliver skills brokerage in 2009/10.

National Apprenticeship Service

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many businesses used the National Apprenticeship Service in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10; and what the average cost to the public purse was of the service provided to such a business.

John Hayes: The National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) was established on 1 April 2009 as the first organisation established solely to promote apprenticeships to employers and young people. NAS does not hold information on the average cost to the public purse of supporting individual employers with these services.
	Employers may work with the National Apprenticeship Service either directly or by accessing a range of services including: a dedicated telephone support line; apprenticeship website; and apprenticeship vacancies, the on-line recruitment system.
	In the financial year 2009-10:
	18,500 employers interested in apprenticeships contacted the apprenticeship national helpline. In addition 16,471 other individuals also used the helpline with apprenticeship enquiries(1).
	About 2,600,000 visits were made to the apprenticeship website by individuals, employers and other organisations and 7,455 employers completed an employer web enquiry form(2).
	Around 10,400 employers advertised for and recruited apprentices using apprenticeship vacancies (the on line system)(3).
	Direct Mail and telemarketing activities allowed NAS to directly contact over 100,000 businesses to drive up leads for NAS sales teams to convert into new apprenticeship places. On top of this NAS sales managers contacted 27,000 businesses through events, intermediaries and their own calls(4).
	(1) Statistics supplied by Call Credit the helpline contracted provider for the National Apprenticeship Service.
	(2) Webtrends analytical software.
	(3) Apprenticeship vacancy online system data.
	(4) These additional statistics are derived from NAS records including the customer tracking system (CRM)-these have not been published externally.

Public Holidays

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he plans to create a new annual bank holiday.

Edward Davey: There are no plans to create a new annual bank holiday as the pattern of bank holidays is well established and accepted but we keep suggestions of additional holidays under consideration.

Train to Gain Programme

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many businesses made use of the Train to Gain service in  (a) 2007-08,  (b) 2008-09 and  (c) 2009-10.

John Hayes: The Train to Gain Brokerage Service recorded the number of businesses who engaged with the Train to Gain provision through the Brokerage Service between 2006/07 and 2008/09 as follows:
	2006/07: 51,600 (note this figure includes 4,000 employers engaged through the former Employer Training Pilots between April and July 2006);
	2007/08: 52,100
	2008/09: 39,700
	In April 2009 the Train to Gain Brokerage Service was integrated into Business Link. Figures recorded by Business Link for Employer Engagement indicate that for:
	April 2009: July 2009 there were 16,149 employer engagements
	August 2009: June 2010 there were 51,329 employer engagements.
	No data are collected centrally on those employers who chose to access Train to Gain directly, either through a college or training provider.

Vocational Training: West Midlands

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he plans to take to support re-skilling initiatives in  (a) the West Midlands and  (b) Coventry.

John Hayes: holding answer 11 October 2010
	In 2010/11 over £509 million is supporting skills training in the west midlands region, of which, over £20 million is supporting Coventry's residents. This funding covers a diverse range of programmes to meet the needs of individuals and employers, and includes apprentices. Learners resident in the Coventry constituency are accessing these opportunities and others in the wider region to raise and broaden their skill levels and improve their lives.
	A consultation to inform a new skills strategy is currently under way. A key principle that will underpin the strategy is that the system should meet the needs of those who have poor work prospects or who have a high chance of spending long periods out of work. It is essential that any future skills system gives a respected, credible vocational training offer that will provide people with a route into employment and help them progress in their careers. The new strategy, to be published after the spending review, will take account of views on how we can best achieve that.

PRIME MINISTER

Departmental Fines

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Prime Minister how many transport-related fines his Office has settled on behalf of its staff in each year since 2005; and what the cost to the public purse was in each such year.

David Cameron: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Francis Maude) on 11 October 2010,  Official Report, column 249W.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Members: Pensions

John Spellar: To ask the Leader of the House what recent representations he has received on policy on hon. Members' pensions; and if he will make a statement.

George Young: I am always happy to receive representations on this and other subjects from hon. and right hon. Members.
	I refer the hon. Gentleman to my written ministerial statement of 26 July 2010,  Official Report, column 70WS. There is broad party political acceptance that the current final-salary pension terms for Members of Parliament are not sustainable and that reform is needed. We anticipate that the current scheme for MPs will end. The Government proposes to consult IPSA on these matters and, in due course, to make a further statement in the light of the final findings of the Independent Public Service Pensions Commission.

CABINET OFFICE

Employment

James Clappison: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what proportion of  (a) UK nationals,  (b) people born in the UK,  (c) foreign nationals,  (d) non-UK EU nationals and  (e) non-EU nationals (i) aged over 16 years and (ii) of working age were in employment in the UK in each of the last eight quarters.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated September 2010:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many and what proportion of (a) UK nationals, (b) people born in the UK, (c) foreign nationals, (d) non-UK EU nationals: and (e) non-EU nationals (i) aged over 16 years and (ii) of working age were in employment in the UK in each of the last eight quarters. (15718)
	You may like to be aware that, following consultation, our practice in respect of labour market statistics changed in August 2010 from regarding working age as men aged 16-64 and women aged 16-59 to statistics based on those aged 16-64 for both men and women.
	The table provided shows Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates provided on this basis.
	
		
			  Employment levels and rates for people aged over 16 years in employment(1,2)  by nationality and country of birth. Three months ending March, June, September and December, 2008-10. United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted 
			  Thousand and percentage 
			   Aged over 16 years 
			   UK nationals  Rate (%)  UK born  Rate (%)  Foreign nationals  Rate (%)  Non-UK EU nationals  Rate (%)  Non-EU nationals  Rate (%) 
			 2008 Q3 27,174 60 25,771 60 2,318 64 1,067 70 1,250 59 
			 2008 Q4 27,026 59 25,585 60 2,377 64 1,074 69 1,303 60 
			
			 2009 Q1 26,741 59 25,283 59 2,347 63 1,118 69 1,229 59 
			 2009 Q2 26,526 58 25,095 58 2,303 62 1,104 68 1,199 57 
			 2009 Q3 26,732 58 25,308 59 2,262 63 1,083 69 1,179 58 
			 2009 Q4 26,691 58 25,259 58 2,288 62 1,069 68 1,219 58 
			
			 2010 Q1 26,487 58 25,039 58 2,254 61 1,075 67 1,179 56 
			 2010 Q2(3) 26,530 *58 25,080 *58 2,401 *62 1,178 *69 1,223 *57 
			  Source: Labour Force Survey (LFS) 
		
	
	
		
			  Employment levels and rates for people aged 16 to 64 years in employment(1,2)  by nationality and country of birth. Three months ending March, June, September and December, 2008-10. United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted 
			  Thousand and percentage 
			   Aged 16 to 64 years 
			   UK nationals  Rate (%)  UK born  Rate (%)  Foreign nationals  Rate (%)  Non-UK EU nationals  Rate (%)  Non-EU nationals  Rate (%) 
			 2008 Q3 26,507 73 25,137 73 2,297 69 1,056 78 1,241 62 
			 2008 Q4 26,342 73 24,933 73 2,357 69 1,062 77 1,296 63 
			
			 2009 Q1 26,050 72 24,632 72 2,326 68 1,104 77 1,222 62 
			 2009 Q2 25,821 71 24,432 71 2,279 66 1,085 76 1,193 59 
			 2009 Q3 26,005 71 24,621 72 2,237 68 1,065 76 1,172 61 
			 2009 Q4 25,942 71 24,552 72 2,269 67 1,057 75 1,213 61 
			
			 2010 Q1 25,721 70 24,313 71 2,236 66 1,065 75 1,172 59 
			 2010 Q2(3) 25,728 *71 24,314 *71 2,377 *67 1,164 *76 1,212 *60 
			 (1) Includes self-employed and unpaid family workers. (2) Excludes those whose nationality was not known. (3) Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates, as described below:  Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV60 - for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220.  Key: * 0 = CV<5%-Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 = CV <10%-Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 = CV <20%-Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ? 20%-Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes CV = Coefficient of Variation  Note: It should be noted that the above estimates exclude people in most types of communal establishment (e.g. hotels, boarding houses, hostels, mobile home sites etc.).  Source: Labour Force Survey (LFS)

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Borneo: Forests

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support his Department has given to the Heart of Borneo project since its inception.

Jeremy Browne: The Government have been at the forefront of international support for the efforts of the Heart of Borneo project. Our missions in Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia have actively worked with their hosts to help turn the Declaration into co-ordinated action plans, and with non-governmental organisations and businesses (including Shell, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank) to build public support for the initiative. Our work has focused on how management of the rainforest, and associated life science research, presents all three countries with ways to align their economies with the global trend towards high-tech/low-carbon.

Departmental Contracts

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the monetary value is of contracts his Department has awarded to each  (a) management consultancy and  (b) IT company since 7 May 2010.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) signed a contract with Cable and Wireless Worldwide on 13 September 2010 for the provision of global telephony, data and video conferencing services. The Echo programme is a framework agreement for a period of 5.5 years, against which the FCO and its partners (UK Border Agency (UKBA) and the Department for International Development) can call off services as required. The current expectation is that the FCO and UKBA will together call off £82 million for services over 5.5 years. This framework contract will provide faster, cheaper and more reliable video conferencing, telephony and internet. The contract will save the tax payer up to £90 million, and will reduce flights, travel and carbon emissions through the increased use of video conferencing.
	There were no contracts awarded under management consultancy.

Human Rights and Democracy Strategic Programme Fund

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  how much money was allocated to the Human Rights and Democracy Strategic Programme Fund in 2008;
	(2)  how much money his Department allocated to the Human Rights and Democracy Strategic Programme Fund in 2009.

Jeremy Browne: In both 2008-09 and 2009-10, £6.1 million was originally allocated to the Human Rights and Democracy Strategic Programme Fund. These allocations were revised to £5.59 million in 2008-09, following an internal transfer to another Foreign and Commonwealth Office programme supporting human rights projects, and to £5.81 million in 2009-10 as a result of in year budget cuts.